The Gift
by EvilRegal084
Summary: What if Regina and Daniel had been given 24hrs. before she had to kill him? Would it have all played out something like this? My wish for the way "The Doctor" Episode would have gone. Don't own anything. First Fic so bear with me :) StableQueen
1. Chapter 1

As Regina stood against the stable wall gasping for each breathe she began to lose the panic feeling, and started to think that death would be much easier than life. Her one true love, Daniel, stood before her with no life in his eyes; with his hands firmly around her neck. In the moment when Regina was about to lose consciousness Daniel's green eyes met with her brown eyes, and Regina saw the flame of life sparkle just as she had seen those 40yrs ago. Quickly Daniel released his grip around Regina's neck, horrified at what he was just doing. As Daniel pulled away from Regina he looked down at his hands distraught at the idea that he almost killed his love.

**Chapter 1**

Regina could not believe what she was seeing, it was Daniel, standing right in front of her car. How was this possible? Daniel was dead, and had been dead for years. Instantly Regina thought of Whale, had he done it? Did he bring Daniel back? Regina immediately drove to her vault where she kept Daniel's perfectly preserved body...which was gone. Staring at the sight of the empty coffin Regina began to feel so many different emotions, from fear, anxiety, and even a little bit of joy. She quickly left the vault and rushed to the hospital to find doctor Whale, whom she found laying on the floor covered in blood.

Regina ran to the injured doctor, "Where is he?!" "Did you do it?!"

The doctor looked into the eyes of the distraught, frantic women, and answered "Yes, I did, but he isn't what you hoped he would be."

Fear gripped Regina at the thought of what the doctor possibly could mean by that statement. As much as she hated to do it, Regina left the doctor bleeding on the floor, she knew she needed to find Daniel before someone else came in contact with him, and ended up being injured, or worse, injuring Daniel. Regina knew where to find her fiance, but first she needed help, someone that could really help her save Daniel, she had to go to Rumple.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Mr. Gold was standing behind the counter in his shop looking through every object he owned trying to come up with a way to leave the tiny little town without losing his memory and find his son, even though he did not have the foggiest idea where to begin looking for him. Suddenly the front door swung open and there stood a bloody and very upset Regina.

Rumple was startled at her appearance, quickly jumping to the conclusion the Regina had taken yet another life, "Well well, your majesty, who did we kill today?"

Regina didnt even answer the question, instead she immediately started begging for help. "Whale did it, you must help me, tell me how I can save him!"

Gold was confused. "Whale? I have to help you save Whale?"

"No! Daniel!"

Rumple couldn't believe what he had just heard, for once The Dark One was shocked. He knew Whale was capable of bringing back the dead, but he never dreamed the good doctor would make the attempt in StoryBrooke, especially on the queen's beloved.

"Are you certain Whale brought Daniel back?"

"Yes! Positive! And from the looks of Dr Whale, Daniel is not the same."

Rumple was now very intrigued to see the "monster" back from the dead, but he had more important matters to deal with. "Well get on with it, what would you like me to do?"

"Give me something to help him, turn him back to Daniel, and keep him alive."

"Well dearie, I can only offer you one thing... A potion that can give you 24hrs with your love, but then, you will have to kill him yourself."

Regina's heart dropped at the thought of losing Daniel again, and the idea of having to kill him herself was almost unbearable. "Is this really all you can do?"

"I'm afraid so, I told you once before dead was dead, and you should leave it that way. All I can offer you is this potion. Just get your beloved Daniel to drink one drop and he is back to normal and all yours for 24hrs."

"What will it cost me?"

"For this dearie... Nothing. Call it me being sentimental, giving you one night with your true love."

Regina reluctantly took the potion, she knew it wasn't smart to trust Rumple, but she wanted so desperately to have just a little bit of time with Daniel; even if it was only one night.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

As Regina looked at her love standing before her, distraught at what he had just done, she reached out to him. Daniel backed away from her, not wanting to harm her again.

"Daniel, it's okay, I know you are not going to hurt me."

Daniel looked at Regina, taking in her strange clothing, and short hair; she looked just as beautiful as she did the last time he saw her. He had so many questions to ask her, but he decided to hold her instead. Feeling Daniel's arms around her gave Regina a sense of joy that she hadn't had in a long time. Regina could have stayed in those stables in Daniel's arms forever, but she knew he needed the potion, and she needed to get him back to her house.. Out of the stables, and out of sight. As much as she was enjoying Daniel holding her she knew time was of the essence. Regina slowly and reluctantly pulled away from him placing her hands on his face. Staring into his green eyes she began to explain to him what needed to happen next.

"Daniel, you need to drink this potion, it will help with the pain."

Daniel looked at Regina with confusion, why was Regina offering him a magic potion? Last he remembered she hated magic. "Regina, what are you doing? You were so against magic when your mother used it.. What happened to you?"

Regina knew she owned Daniel an explanation, the truth really, but she didnt want the time they had together to be spent with her spilling every painful experience of her life since he died. They only had one night, and she wanted it to be special.

"I can't explain everything to you now, you need to drink this and we need to get out of here before anyone finds us."

Daniel was still confused, but he trusted Regina with his entire heart. Taking the bottle in his hand he drank the potion until there was barely a drop left. Suddenly, all the unbearable pain left his body and he was able to really look into Regina's eyes and see her beauty again, but he also saw alot of pain and heart ache behind those brown eyes. He wanted so desperately to comfort her even if he didnt know the cause of all of this sadness and pain.

"Regina, how long do we have together, before I change back." Regina looked at her fiancé with tears in her eyes...

"We have 24hrs.. Then.."

Daniel seemed to understand where Regina was going with her statement and he accepted it. "Well, then lets make this the best 24hrs."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Regina helped Daniel into her house and led him to the couch to sit while she began to cast a spell over the house, protecting them from anyone in the outside world that might decide to pay a visit before the 24hrs was over. Daniel sat in the living room looking around at all of the strange surroundings, taking in every detail of the beautiful home.

On the mantle he spotted several pictures of a little boy, starting from a baby to around the age of 10. "Regina, who is that little boy?"

Regina's heart sank to her stomach at the thought of Henry and how he had chosen to live with David over her, and that she knew she had to tell Daniel who he was and where he was.

"Umm.. That's my son, Henry."

"You have a son? So you are married?"

"No! Daniel, I'm not married, but yes I do have a son. I adopted him when he was a very little baby."

"Well where is he? I'd love to meet him."

"It's a little complicated, and a long story, one that we don't have time to talk about."

As much as Daniel wanted to listen to every detail of the story, he knew that he and Regina only had a limited amount of time together. Regina found Daniel some clean clothes to change into, and cooked them some dinner. They both were enjoying their time together so much that they completely lost track of time, before they knew it the time was 2 A.M. As Regina finished up cleaning the kitchen she looked into the living room where Daniel was studying the pictures of Henry, she felt so much love fill her heart, love she hadn't felt since he was taken from her all those years ago. She had been so angry for so many years that she had forgotten what it felt like to be truly loved by someone. She loved Henry and he loved her, but this love was different. It was such a strong unwavering, unbreakable love. A love that Regina had missed, more than she realized. Daniel turned to see Regina standing in the kitchen doorway, staring at him, looking more beautiful each time he looked at her. He couldn't quite figure out why she hadn't aged in all of these years, he wanted to know why she started using magic, or how she ended up in this strange town with a son. All of those questions he knew Regina didn't want to answer, and he didnt want to take up the time they had bringing up what was obviously a very painful past for Regina. Regina smiled at him and he smiled back.

"Shall we head up to bed?"

Daniel knew that the time was getting short and he wanted to definitely make the best of it. He reached for Regina's hand as they headed upstairs to Regina's bedroom and shut the door.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Regina was awakened the next morning by the bright sunlight shining through the window. As she opened her eyes she was met with Daniel staring at her. It was incredible to see him lying there next to her, she had temporarily forgotten that she was going to have to let him go soon. That was a thought she didn't want to think on until it was absolutely necessary. Daniel reached over and touched her face sliding her hair behind her ear. Regina smiled as she closed her eyes taking in the feel of his hand against her face. She had thought of him everyday since his death, and now he was here, lying in bed next to her. She had forgotten the outside world, the curse, Emma the Charmings, and even for a brief little while Henry. She didnt want the moment to end, although she knew it had to soon. As she looked at the clock she knew that time was closing in on them and she only had but an hour left before the potion wore off. She moved into Daniels arms and decided to lay there until it was time to let home go.

Daniel kissed the top of her head and began to tell her how much he loved her "Regina, I love you more than I have ever loved anyone or anything, you were the best part of my life. I am sorry I left you alone, and that you had to deal with whatever it was you dealt with. I would die a thousand times over again to protect you from any harm. Never forget how much you mean to me and how beautiful and true our love is."

Regina didn't know what to say, she just kept her head on his chest as the tears ran down her face. They both laid in bed for the remainder of the hour until Daniel began to feel himself changing again. Regina died inside knowing that it was time to let him go. She looked into his face just before he changed over again.

Daniel looked into her eyes and said "Move on with your life, find love again, and be happy. I love you always."

"You will always be my one true love Daniel." With that final comment Regina touched Daniel on the hand and he disappeared, leaving her again broken and alone.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Regina opened the front door of her house attempting to go outside and into town for the first time in 6wks. Having to let Daniel go again was almost too much for her to bear, she had spent the entire six weeks avoiding everyone from town, including Henry. Her sweet son had come to the house at least once a week trying to get Regina to answer the door, but she had refused. Seeing people meant she had to explain what happened, and she just wasn't ready yet. She knew going into town would most definitely bring questions, but she felt as though she was mentally prepared for them now. As Regina pulled up to granny's to grab a coffee and a little breakfast, she saw Henry walking toward her car. Seeing him made her feel so much better, especially since he seemed to be very happy to see her out of the house. As she exited her car Henry ran toward her and practically jumped into her arms. Regina's heart filled with joy for the first time in six weeks, she realised at that moment that Daniel and Henry were the only two loves of her life, and Henry was all she had left, therefore she was going to do everything in her power to keep him in her life; even if that meant stopping magic and helping David find a way to bring Emma and snow home. Henry looked up at her as Regina knelt down to meet him face to face, as she always did when speaking with him. Henry could see the sadness in her eyes, even if Regina was smiling at him, he looked at her with concern.

"Mom, what happened to you? You disappeared for such a long time, and wouldn't let me into the house.. I was a little worried about you."

Regina looked at the sweet little boy thinking of how much he had grown and how fast it had all happened. He was not a baby anymore, and he was old enough to hear the truth about why she stayed in her home for so long.

"Henry, how about you skip school today and spend the day with me instead? I will explain everything to you."

Henry was actually very excited about the prospect of staying with his mom all day, because no matter who she was or what she had done, she would always hold a special place in his heart.

"That would be great! David is really busy today trying to think of a way to bring Emma and Mary Margaret home, so he will never know I didn't go to school."

The pair decided to begin their day together by going into granny's for breakfast during which Regina told Henry the entire story from the beginning. Regina felt a sense of peace getting it all out in the open, and especially sharing it with Henry. She began to think that maybe everything would be okay now, although at some point she knew Emma would most likely be in the picture again, but she felt as though her relationship with Henry just got ten times better with her sharing the story of Daniel with him. As they stood to leave Regina noticed a peculiar feeling come over her. Something she had never felt before, she immediately sat back down in the chair trying to control the nausea feeling. Henry turned to see his mom not looking well, he went over to her very concerned.

"Mom, are you okay? You don't look so good."

Regina took in a deep breathe and looked and Henry, she placed her hand on his face "Yes I'm fine sweetheart, just stood up too quickly I imagine."

This seemed to reassure Henry who then ran out the door excited to continue his free day with his mom. Regina slowly stood back up, very worried as to why she had just experienced that feeling. What could be wrong? Was it just a one time thing, or was there something else there? Little did Regina know that her life was about to change dramatically.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Regina sat nervously on the exam table waiting for the doctor to come in with her test results. After a week of feeling ill she decided she needed to get things checked out, and as Dr Whale entered the room with her test results Regina prepared herself for the worst possible news.

"Well hello your majesty..."

Whale was not Regina's biggest fan, as a matter of fact no one in Storybrooke really was. Regina had caused them all so much pain and suffering that it was going to take alot of time before they came around to liking or trusting her.

"I know that I'm the last person you want to see, and I wouldn't have even come in if I wasn't desperate. I'm not sure what is going on, and I'm worried that something might be wrong."

"Nothing is wrong, you are in perfect health."

"But I've been feeling so ill lately there has to be something going on." "I said nothing was wrong, I didn't say there wasn't a reason for your illness. Your test results confirm what I thought when I did your initial exam.. You are pregnant Regina."

Regina almost couldn't believe what the dr had just said.

"Pregnant?! But that's impossible! I couldn't be!"

"Well you are, blood test don't lie I'm afraid."

Regina looked at the dr with a shocked look on her face still trying to process the diagnosis. "How far along am I?"

"Well according to your hormone levels I would say at least 7-8wks."

Regina immediately thought back to the magical day she had had with Daniel almost exactly 7wks ago, and realised this was entirely possible. Whale looked into the queens eyes and he could see fear and concern, something he never thought he would ever see in Regina's face. In some way he almost felt sorry for her, and knew that she must have been terribly frightened. He touched her on the shoulder and tried as best he could to comfort her. Regina shook his hand off of her shoulder, not wanting to appear vunerable in front of the doctor.

"We need to do an ultrasound to make sure the baby is healthy and growing properly."

Regina just nodded her head in agreement wiping the tears from her eyes that were beginning to form. As the doctor began the ultrasound Regina was still in such a state of shock that she really didnt even pay attention to what the doctor was doing, she was in another world, thinking of how excited Daniel would have been to know he was going to be a father. Tears began to fall at the thought of Daniel never knowing his child, and her child never knowing his/her father. All of a sudden Regina heard an unusual sound filling the room. She turned to Whale with a puzzled look on her face.

"That's your babies heartbeat, you can see it here."

Whale pointed to the screen and showed Regina the smallest little flicker. Regina had never seen anything more beautiful. That was her baby on the screen, that tiny little speck had been created out of the most love. At that moment all of her fears and reservations seemed to disappear, she thought of nothing but that little life growing inside of her. As the doctor finished up the scan Regina began to think of how she was going to explain to everyone about how this baby came to be, and how was she to tell Henry? Their relationship had been going so well as of late, she was afraid this could cause so many issues. She was going to bring an little innocent baby into this huge mess she had created over 28yrs ago. She looked at Whale and practically begged him to keep this a secret for a while, at least until she could tell Henry. Reluctantly Whale agreed, but mostly only for the sake of keeping Henry from getting hurt anymore than he already had. As she left the doctors office she stared at the black and white grainy picture from the scan. At that moment she made a promise to herself and to her baby, that no matter what happened she would always keep him/her safe. Nothing else seemed to matter anymore except for her baby and Henry and she would do anything to protect them both and keep them happy.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Two weeks had passed since Regina found out she was expecting. She hadn't been out of the house much, the morning sickness was a little to hard to hide and she wasnt ready to tell everyone in town yet. She had however, decided to tell Henry. David was to drop him off for dinner that evening and Regina had hope that he would stay the night. She had so missed walking into his room late at night just to watch him sleep. Regina prepared Henry's favourite meal, although it looked none to appetising to her, which most things didnt these days. Henry was pretty excited about the dinner night with his mom, as he and David drove over to Regina's house Henry asked David if he knew what his mom wanted to tell him. David looked over at the little boy and he could see the excitement Henry had even though he was trying to hide it.

"No Henry, I don't have any idea what your mom wants to tell you."

"Oh.. Do you think maybe she has come up with a way to bring home Emma and Mary Margaret?"

David looked at Henry knowing how hopeful the kid was that his mom was changing and that she was going to just give up magic and just come over to the white side rather than the dark. David was very sceptical that any of this would happen, even if Regina had surprised him by giving up Henry so easily. Maybe she was trying to change. As Henry and David stood on the front stoop of Regina's house waiting for her to answer the door, Henry looked up at David and asked if it would be okay if he stayed the night with Regina. David hesitated but he could see the hope in Henry's eyes.. So he agreed. Just then Regina opened the door, David was stunned at her appearance, she was pale and looked very tired, but she also looked very beautiful and soft. Regina completely ignored looking at David and immediately wrapped her arms around Henry. She was so pleased to see him. After she and Henry finished their greeting Regina looked up at David.

"I was wondering if maybe Henry could.."

David cut her off, "We talked about it already Regina, and he would like to stay overnight."

Regina smiled at David as she thanked him.

As she told David goodbye he stopped her mid sentence again "Regina, are you okay? Feeling alright?"

Regina knew he could tell she looked tired but put a smile on her face anyway. "Of course I'm alright, why wouldn't I be?"

"Well I just thought you looked a bit tired."

"I'm fine David I assure you, but I appreciate the concern. Have a nice night."

With that Regina closed the door. She leaned against the inside of the door and took in a deep breathe, she knew she couldn't keep this pregnancy a secret for long, and oh the issues it was going to cause when it was revealed. But for tonight her focus was on Henry, and being with him every minute she could. Henry was standing in the kitchen sticking his finger into the apple filling for the pie. Regina walked into the doorway and stood a moment watching her sweet little son. Oh how she had missed him. She smiled as she placed her hand over her stomach thinking of the sweet little baby that would be joining their family soon.

"Henry, don't eat that! You will ruin your dinner, and I made your favourite."

Henry looked up at his mother, knowing he wasn't really in trouble, he smiled at her. He also noticed the rather tired look on her face, and could see there was something on her mind. He worried about her, but he knew she would tell him in time. As they sat down for dinner Henry began to dig into the delicious meal Regina had prepared, Regina on the other hand, could barely handle the smell let alone eat any of it, so she just moved it around on her plate a bit. After they finished dinner and got everything put away Regina motioned for Henry to join her on the sofa. She wrapped her arm around his shoulder and took in a deep breathe, mentally preparing for the shock she was about to give him.

"Henry, I have something I need to tell you. It's pretty big news and it's going to be a big surprise, but I want you to promise me that you won't tell anyone about it just yet."

Henry could feel a sinking feeling in his stomach, he was worried something was wrong.

"Have you been using magic? Like.. For evil?"

"No! No.. I haven't, not since Daniel was here, and I told you all about that. I promised I would do better, and I'm really trying."

Henry was relieved to here this news, but he was still concerned with what the news could be. Even though he did love his mother he knew that she was still the Evil Queen and she was capable of so many things.

"I went to the doctor a few days ago and he shared with me something pretty wonderful. I.. We are going to have a baby Henry."

Henry couldn't believe what he just heard. At first he was a bit jealous, but then he just filled up with excitement.

"A baby?! I'm going to be a big brother?!"

Regina was a bit uncertain if his reaction was excitement or anger. "Yes Henry you are, if you want to be."

Henry wanted nothing more, he thought this child would be good for his mother, and he had always wanted a sibling.

"Yes I want to be! This is going to be so great!"

Regina smiled as she breathed in a sigh of relief. She pulled Henry in for a hug before she sent him up to get ready for bed. Regina tucked Henry into bed, pulling his blankets tightly around him. She leaned in and kissed him on the forehead. Henry's eyes met hers and he smiled at her.

"Are you excited about the baby?" Regina looked at Henry so tenderly.

"Yes I am excited, this baby means as much to me as you do. I love it so much already."

"You mean you love her so much already."

Regina looked puzzled at Henry. "Oh so it's a girl is it?"

"Yes, I'm sure it's a girl, because that's what I want is a sister."

Regina thought it odd for a boy to want a sister, but she just smiled at Henry and replied "Okay Henry, if you want it to be a girl so badly then I'm sure it will be."

Regina could very easily use her magic to determine whether it was a boy or girl, but she felt like she would wait and be surprised.

As she started to leave the room Henry stopped her, he looked into her eyes and said "This is a new start for you mom, a chance for you to be happy. I love you."

Regina could feel the tears welling up I her eyes, "I love you too Henry."

She stood in the doorway resting her hand on her stomach and watched Henry until he fell asleep. This was a new start for her, and a chance at happiness, true happiness. Could it really all be too good to be true, or would something stand in the way as it always had in the past.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

It had been a few days since Regina had revealed her big secret to Henry, and so far he had kept it to himself not even sharing the news with David. Regina had hoped that the baby would help the relationship between her and Henry maybe take his mind off of getting Emma and Snow back, but even though Henry was excited about the new sibling he was not distracted from focusing so much on getting his birth mother and grandmother home. Regina was trying her best to get along with David and the other members of the town, but it was difficult. She was not liked nor trusted by any of them no matter what she tried to do they still were struggling to come around. Early one morning Regina recieved a phone call from David asking her to come sit with Henry for a while so he could take care of Sherriff business.

"He is still sleeping and I do not want to wake him, he has been having some disturbing dreams as of late and not sleeping very well."

Regina immediately agreed to drive over no questions asked, even though the mornings were not the easiest for her lately, she would never pass up a chance to be with Henry. As she arrived at the Charming's apartment David was already heading out the door.

"David, wait! Tell me what was going on with Henry, what kind of dreams is he having?"

She could tell David was obviously in a hurry but Regina didn't care, she was so very concered about Henry that nothing else mattered. David took in a deep breathe and explained to Regina a bit about the dream.

"He is in a room, filled with fire, a red room. He is really having a difficult time with it, so stay close to him and be there if he needs you."

Regina was a bit angered at David for just assuming that she would just ignore Henry, she had been his mother for 10yrs, she had always been there for him, and always would be. Even though it angered her, Regina decided to keep the peace as best she can for Henry, so she simply thanked David for choosing her, even if he really didn't have any other option. David gave her a half smile as he left the apartment. Regina walked into the bedroom where Henry seemed to be sleeping peacefully, she smiled at the sight of her sweet child. She never thought she could ever love again, let alone love so deeply again. Regina made herself comfortable in the chair next to the bed, she was really feeling very tired and ill, but being there next to her sleeping son made it all bearable.

Just as Regina had fallen asleep she heard Henry wake up with a scream, terrified she ran over to him trying to calm him as best she could, "Henry it's okay, I'm here you are safe."

Henry looked at his mother confused, "What are you doing here? Where is David."

"He had something to take care of so he called me, he said you had been having these dreams, why don't you tell me about them."

Henry wasn't sure he wanted to talk to his mom about this, even though he was starting to see change in her, and he was realizing how much he did care for her, the trust was still very shaky. Even still, he was very frightened by the dream and wanted to talk to someone about it. He looked at his mom, and as much as he hated it he could feel the safe and secure feeling that she still gave him, and it was only she that could give him that feeling totally.

"I'm not really sure what it means, I am in this room, and it's filled with fire."

Regina wanted to take all of the fear he had, and the pain he was feeling away from him. She looked at him sympathetically and touched his arm, trying to give him some comfort. When she touched his wrist he let out a scream. Regina panicked at the fear that she had just hurt her child in some way.

"What?! Henry, What is it?" She looked down and her son's wrist to see a burn mark on his arm. "What is this place you are going too?"

Regina knew this was something beyond her magical abilities, and since the pregnancy she had not even tested her magic to see if it was affected in any way, and she was not about to use her son as a test object, or put the baby in any danger. The only other option Regina had was to take him to Gold.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

The little bell rang quietly as Regina and Henry entered the store belonging to the dark one. Gold was standing behind his counter reading through his inventory of goodies still trying to figure out a way to leave StoryBrooke to find his son Bae. As he heard the bell ring he looked up to see Regina and Henry standing in front of him.

"Well well so you've come back for help have you?"

Regina glared at Gold, "This time it's for Henry, not me."

Gold softened just a bit looking down at young Henry. "What seems to be the problem Henry?"

Henry looked up at Gold he was a bit afraid of him now, knowing who he was and what he had done. But oddly enough he felt safe with Regina standing behind him with her hands on his shoulders.

"Well it's this room, and it's red, but it's filled with fire."

Gold knew exactly what Henry was talking about, he looked up at Regina with a smirk. "This is your fault."

Regina was gripped with fear, what had she done to cause this pain to her son? "My fault?! How is this my fault?"

"This room, this dream, is a result of being put under a sleeping curse, which as I recall, you put your son under."

Regina fummed with anger because Gold knew that curse was never meant for Henry. It hurt Regina so much to know that she was causing this to happen to her son, but that was in the past, she needed to move forward now and prove to Henry she had changed. Gold walked around the counter to the middle of the store with Regina and Henry, he waved his hand over Henry's wrist and healed the burn mark.

Regina looked at Gold and smiled slightly, "Thank you."

Gold looked at Regina meeting her smile, but his was more of a smirk, "Not a problem, anything for Henry, but i'm a bit confused, you could have just as easily healed his arm, why come to me?"

Regina knew she couldn't answer that question with the truth, and she already suspected that Gold knew something was up with her. Quickly she answered with, "I promised Henry I wouldn't use magic."

She knew that answer was not good enough to convince Gold, but he seemed to just let it slide for now. Gold had more important things on his mind, he couldn't be bothered with the real reason for Regina not using her magic.

Gold reached into his pocket and pulled out a necklace and handed it to Henry, "Wear this when you sleep and it will protect you in the dream."

Regina stopped Henry from taking the necklace, "What's the price, everything comes with a price with you."

"I told you, for Henry, there is no charge."

Reluctantely Regina allowed Henry to take the necklace and put it on.

She then looked down at him, placing her hand on his cheek and smiled, "Henry, you go ahead and catch the bus for school, I need to talk to Mr. Gold for a minute."

The small boy looked at her with a confused, and worried look. He knew how dangerous it could be to leave his mom alone with Gold, but he just simply smiled softly at her and walked out the door. Gold glared into Regina's eyes very curious as to why she stayed behind.

"So, I take it there is something else you want from me? My my aren't we taking advantage of my favours here lately."

Regina glared back at Gold, staring at him so coldly that even the Dark One almost got chills. "I want to know if you can remove this curse from my son, anything you can do to keep him safe."

Gold had a smirk cross his face, "Well dearie, I am capable of many things, but that is something that is beyond me. Besides you are no longer Henry's mother, so why would you concern yourself with his well being?"

Those words almost felt like a knife cutting through her heart, a cold reminder that Henry did in fact have another mother in his life now, even if she was out of the picture for the moment, she knew Emma would find her way back to him, because that's exactly what Regina would do.

Gold looked at Regina confused, "Why your majesty, did I strike a nerve? All of the color seems to have drained from your face."

Regina knew that the loss of color was partly because of his statement, but mostly because she was feeling fairly ill again. She was steadying herself by holding onto the coutertop, which Gold had noticed. Fearful of Gold finding out her secret she decided to try and turn around as quickly as she could, without getting sick, and leave before she gave Gold any other reason to start questioning her delicate condition. As Regina's hand touched the doorknob Gold stopped her.

"Ahh, I understand now.. you my dear Regina are with child aren't you?"


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Regina's heart fell to her stomach as she heard those words, her first instict was to deny it, but she knew that would be futile, so she decided to say nothing. She turned and met Gold eye to eye, as he placed his hand in front of her stomach.

"Why yes you are.. and a little girl it seems to be."

Regina couldn't even let herself get excited about the fact that he just revealed the gender of her child, because she was so frightned at the fact that Gold had figured out about her sweet baby. Her sweet secret that she knew she wouldn't be able to keep long, but it had been nice with it just being between her and Henry. Regina moved to a chair to sit, feeling like it would be easier for what she was about to deal with, she took in a deep breath trying to prepare what she was going to say in response to him.

"Yes, I am going to have a child, and I would really appreciate it if you would keep it to yourself for a while."

Gold let out a slight laugh, "Honestly your majesty I could care less what is going on with you, although it is interesting. Now could I only guess who the happy father shall be?"

Regina was angered at his statement, mocking the beautiful day she had shared with Daniel.

"Yes, the father of this child, this little girl, is Daniel."

Gold looked down at Regina, "Well my dear, guess you will have your happy ending after all, just a shame poor Henry is being replaced."

"I will never stop loving Henry! He is my son! and he will ALWAYS be my son!"

Regina had to restrain herself from using magic, she was so angry, but again she had no idea what using magic could do to her unborn child.

"No, I am not going to let you get me to a point of no return, you have done that before, but not again. I am not going to put this baby in any danger."

With that Regina stormed out the door, slamming it behind her. As she made it to her car the tears began falling down her face, she sat still for a moment trying to catch her breath. She knew that her small time of peace was now over, Gold knew about the baby, and although he didn't seem to interested, Regina knew that he could use that against her at any point, and her fear was her baby would suffer as a result


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

As Regina arrived back to her house she was so terribly distraught over the events of the day. Gold now knew that, as much as she didn't want to be, she was vunerable. She couldn't allow herself to get upset right now, this baby had to come first. She knew she had made many mistakes with Henry, but not with this little girl. Just as Regina got to her front door she heard David calling her name.

"Regina."

Regina rolled her eyes and sighed, she really didn't feel like talking with anyone, especially Prince Charming, but whatever David had to say could be about Henry so she was willing to listen. David stopped halfway to the front stoop not daring to get any closer, he still didn't fully trust Regina.

"I need your help to bring home Emma and Snow, you are the only one that can help, you said once you were willing to help me. Does the offer still stand?"

Honestly Regina did not have any interest in helping Prince Charming get his wife and daughter home, especially after what had just happened at Gold's shop, all she wanted to do was take Henry, have her little girl and the three of them just disappear from sight. Unfortunately, Regina knew that this wish was not going to happen, so she might as well help the desperate prince out. Helping bring Emma home would make Henry happy, so that was a plus for Regina, who would do anything to make him happy. Regina turned from her door to look David in the eyes, smiling slightly she answered him.

"Yes David, I am still willing to help you, but I haven't the slightest idea where to start."

David could see that Regina had been crying, and she still looked very drained. He was also a bit surprised at her response, he had come fully prepared to be shut down.

It took a moment for David to get over his shock and get the words out, "Can we talk inside?"

Regina took in a deep breath, she really just wanted to go up to her room and lie down, the events of the day had really taken its tole on her, she was physically and emotionally drained, but she decided to allow David in. David and Regina sat at the kitchen table having a cup of tea, neither had said a word to each other, mostly because there really was nothing to say. There was so much tension between the two and so much bad history that it was amazing they could stand to be in the same room as each other. Two enemies that had found a common bond, his name was Henry. David began the conversation with an idea that was quickly put down by Regina, obviously his good looks and flashing smile was all that he had going for him. The two sat quietly a little while longer when Regina had an idea.

"I took Henry to see Gold today to see why he was having the dreams. Apparantely they are result of being put under a sleeping curse."

"You took him to see Rumple? He can't be trusted Regina!"

"Don't you think that I above anyboy knows that?! Something needed to be done, Henry had a burn mark on his arm, and I couldn't heal it because..."

Regina stopped before finishing her sentence now terrified that she might have to tell David her secret, which she did not want to do yet.

"What is it Regina? Why couldn't you heal Henry? Why take him to Rumple?"

Quickly Regina responded with the same lie she had told Rumple, hoping that Charming would not see through it as Rumple had.

"I promised Henry I wouldn't use magic... even if it was to heal him I wanted to show him that I could keep my promise."

David looked at Regina as if he had just believed every word with no question. This gave Regina a slight feeling of relief, granted she knew the Prince was no where near as smart as Rumple, but it still made her feel uneasy. She so wanted to keep this secret for a little while longer. David quickly moved back to the subject of the plan.

"Henry did mention somthing to me about seeing a women in his dream the other night by the name of Aurora. He said she was with Emma and Snow, but I didn't really pay attention to it because I thought it was impossible. Do you think it was true? Could we maybe send a message to them through her?"

Regina was a little unsure if it would work, but she knew it was possible.

"Maybe, but what would we tell them? I wouldn't even begin to know where they are. I thought our land no longer existed."

"Apparantley it still does, and if that's the case then all Snow and Emma have to do is find a portal back. We just need to get Henry to send the message to them through Aurora."

"Absolutely not! We are in no way sending my son into that dreadful room, it is bad enough he goes there when he is sleeping normally. I will not put him in danger."

"Regina it's the only way to send her a message. I realize the risk but right now it's our only option. We can go to Gold if it makes you feel better, between his magic and yours we can keep Henry safe."

Regina started to interrupt to remind him about her "Promise" to Henry with the whole magic thing, when David cut her off.

"I know you promised him you wouldn't use magic, but in this case I will tell him that it's okay if you are using it to help."

Regina knew she really didn't need to use magic, but she decided to agree with David just to get him to leave.

They both made a plan to meet at Gold's shop later that afternoon to discuss a plan of action.

As David exited the door he turned back around to face Regina, who was about to shut the door in his face.

"Regina, thank you. I know that you are only doing this for Henry and not for Snow or Emma, but I still thank you."

Flashing that smile of his, that seemed to work on everyone but Regina, he turned aroung and walked down the path back to his truck.

Regina stood in the doorway for a while watching him leaving, contemplating what she had just agreed to do. She was going to put her son in danger to bring home the women that destoyed her life so many years ago, and the women that could destroy it now. She hated that sinking feeling it gave her to think of losing Henry, and although she was very tempted to take him and just leave StoryBrooke she knew that he would never be happy again, and would never forgive her. She didn't think she could live her life that way, she truly loved Henry, and wanted to put him first no matter what. Regina turned toward the foyer and closed the door, she went into the living room cabinets and pulled out a box. Slowly she headed upstairs to Henry's room, sitting down on his bed she opened the box. She began pulling out pictures of Henry, little cards and crafts he had made throughout the years. Birthday mementos, Mother's Day cards, and even a badly shaped clay bowl that he had made when he was just six years old. She held the items close to her and cried, almost as if she was mourning the death of her child, and in a way she was. Regina realized at that moment that Henry was no longer "her" son, he was Emma's. Accepting that and letting go of him was quite possibly the hardest thing she had ever done, but she knew if she wanted to be a part of his life in any way that this was how it had to be. If Henry made the decision to live with her, wonderful, but if he didn't she would be okay with his choice. As she went to place the items carefully back into the box, she noticed something very small folded very neatly in the corner of the box. She lifted up the item and smiled as tears ran down her cheeks. It was a tiny gown that she had made so many years ago, at a much happier time. She and Daniel were to be married and she was filled with so much joy and happiness. Regina knew that they would have a child someday, so she made this little gown in hopes that someday their little boy or girl could wear it. After Daniel died she just couldn't bear to part with it. So she tucked it away for safe keeping, taking it out every so often when she wanted to remember a happier time. When she inacted the curse this little gown, along with several other of her most precious possessions, made it's way over to StoryBrooke. The last time she had seen the little gown was when Henry was a tiny tiny baby. She never could bring herself to put Henry in the gown, as she had always intended for the future child of her and Daniel to wear it. Now she was going to have that child, although the circumstances were extremely different, it would still be a child that was part of her and a part of Daniel. She laid the little gown onto the bed and finished placing the other items into the box closing the lid. These momentos would be things she would treasure always, but things were different now and there was no returning to the past. Regina gently folded the gown and held it close to her heart as she stood to leave the room. She turned around at the door and looked back into the room belonging to her son, and decided to leave it just the way Henry left it; this would always be his home. She took in a deep breath and left the room closing the door behind her.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Regina walked into Mr. Gold's store carrying a large blanket in her hand, she made her way over to Henry who was lying down on a make shift bed in the store.

"I thought bringing you your blanket from home would help."

Henry smiled up at her as she laid the blanket over him. Mr. Gold and Charming were standing over by the counter discussing the plan. Mr. Gold walked over to Henry and took a seat next to him.

"Henry, are you ready?"

Henry was a little afraid, but he knew that he needed to be brave because he needed to do this. He was possibly the only hope to bringing Emma and Snow home.

"I think so.. Yes.. I am ready."

Mr. Gold placed his hand over Henry's face and began to tell him what to do. He had come up with a plan based on the information he was given by Henry earlier that Snow and Emma had a compass that they could use to get through a portal, and he knew exactly where to send them. Henry laid very still with his hands griping the necklace that was to keep him safe. Regina was so worried she thought she might be sick, her heart was racing as she watched her sweet son sleep into a deep sleep.

"Henry, I want you to see the room with all the fire, don't be afraid, look for Aurora. When you see her you must tell her to relay the message to Emma and Snow that they need to get to the Lake that can restore what once was lost, throw in the compass and it should open the portal."

******Henry in his dream*****

Henry stood in the room that terrified him so much, looking around for Aurora, calling her name. As he looked around he saw her on the other side of the room calling for him as well. They both see each other and Henry tries his best to relay the message given to him by Rumple.

"You have to take the compass to the Lake, and throw it in. That will open the portal and they can come home."

Aurora was finding it hard to understand what Henry was saying, but she got the basic idea. She knew she had to tell him about the situation with Cora back in Fairytale land.

"Henry, we are being chased by Cora... She is trying to get into the portal as well. Is there any way we can defeat her?"

At that moment Aurora was ripped away and disappeared. Henry was stunned at what she had just told him. He was afraid for Emma and Snow, he knew that everything his mom had done was nothing compared to what Cora had done. He knew that Gold needed to come up with a new plan to help them out, because Cora was not going to be easy to defeat.

*****Back to Gold's store*****

Henry woke up with a jolt opening his eyes wide. Regina rushed to his side, discovering another burn mark on his arm. This made her hurt all over, she would take the pain and fear from him if she could.

"Henry, are you okay? It's alright we are all right here, I am right here."

Hearing his moms voice did make him feel better, and after he gathered his thoughts he knew he needed to tell them what he had found out. He looked into Regina's eyes

"I gave her the message, but there is a problem...a big problem actually."

This sparked Charming's interest, thinking that Snow and Emma could be injured or in danger.

"What is it Henry? Are they okay? What's going on?"

Regina looked over to Charming glaring at him.

"David! Give him a chance to breathe!"

Charming relaxed a little, no matter how afraid he was for Snow and Emma he knew that Henry was just as afraid and needed a chance to recollect his thoughts. Henry looked around to Mr. Gold,

"They need your help, you need to come up with a plan to defeat her, they can't defeat her on their own."

"They need me to defeat who Henry? Who are they facing"

Henry looked back into the eyes of his mother

"Cora, they need help defeating Cora."


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Gold, Regina, and Charming stood in the back room of the store discussing a plan. Gold knew exactly what to do, but he was keeping quiet at the moment. Regina was in a state of shock almost, she had just been informed tha the mother she had thought was dead for over 28yrs was alive and well, and trying to get to StoryBrooke. She feared only for Henry and her unborn child if that happened. For a brief moment she even contemplated taking Henry and leaving the town, getting him and her baby out of harms way, but she knew that she had to stay if for no other reason than Henry, he would never forgive her if she made him leave Emma. Charming had no idea where to even begin, his strengths were more in the area of fighting, not coming up with plans, or talking, that was always Snow. All he could think about was that the lives of his wife and daughter were in the hands of the two people that tried to destroy them in the first place. Gold leaned against the wall holding his cain in front of him ready to tell the prince and the queen the plan.

"We need to send Henry back to sleep so that he can tell Aurora how to destroy Cora, I know how to do it, it won't be easy, but it can be done."

Regina glared over at Gold

"Henry will be doing nothing of the kind! I don't care what happens or what you have to do Henry will not be doing anything."

David was standing next to Regina agreeing with every word, they did not agree on much, but this they definately agreed on. Although he wanted Emma and Snow home and safe, he was not willing to send Henry back into that room.

"Why don't I do it? Put me under a sleeping curse and I will send the message."

Gold looked at Charming, not surprised he was willing to be the sacrificial lamb.

"Well, we can definately do that, but there is a chance that you might not wake up."

"Yes I will be woken up, because I will send them the message and they will get home, and Snow will kiss me."

"That's an awful big assumption, Cora is very powerful, your wife might just fail."

"Not Snow, she won't fail, we have been apart too long, she will do anything to get back."

Regina just stood quiet as the two men debated with each other, she honestly did not care if Charming went under a curse, she really didn't care about Emma and Snow. She placed her hand over her stomach thinking of what damage her mother could do if she made it over. She would do anything to destroy Regina's happiness, and that would mean harming Henry, her unborn daughter, or both. She was brought out of her trance by Charming's voice.

"Will you do it Regina?"

"Do what?"

"Use your magic to put me under a sleeping curse?"

Regina's heart sank, she knew she didn't want to use magic.

"I um.. I don't"

Rumple, knowing the situation, decided to interrupt.

"I can do it, Regina made a promise to Henry, and I think she wants to keep it. We don't want to crush young Henry more than he has already been crushed. I will need Regina's help, but only instruction."

Regina didn't understand why Rumple had just saved her from having to tell David the reason, but she decided to just let it go for now. They all agreed on the plan, Charming would go under the curse and relay the message from Gold on how to defeat Cora.

"Tell them that in my cell there is some squid ink, this will trap Cora and give them a chance to get into the portal."

Regina went to her house and retrieved the book of spells so that she and Rumple could put together the sleeping curse. She was worried at what the outcome of all of this would be, and extremely concered at the fact that her mother was alive. Gold carefully mixed each ingredient into the small glass bottle, and listened to Regina's every instruction. As Gold mixed in the final ingredient Henry walked into the room, mainly to check on his mom and make sure she wasn't being tempted to use magic, but he was also very curious at the magic making process.

"Mom, are you really not using magic because you promised me? Or is there another reason?"

Regina knealt down to meet Henry face to face.

"Well, it's mostly because of the promise I made to you, but it's also because of the baby. I am not certain if the baby would be affected in any way if I did use magic."

Henry looked at his mom and smiled, he took her hand in his,

"I understand, and I am very proud of you. You really are trying to do better."

Regina could feel a tear escape her eye. It was a wonderful feeling to have Henry believe in her. It was what she wanted more than anything. Gold turned around to look at Regina.

"It's done, now all we need to do is give it to Prince Charming."

Regina wiped a tear from her eye and nodded her head, she placed her hand on Henry's back and they all headed back into the middle of the store where Charming was waiting to begin his mission. Gold placed the end of a spinning needle into the potion, and pricked the end of Charming's finger putting him into a deep sleep.

*****Charming's Dream*****

David looked around at the dark room, not knowing where to go next, he called out for Aurora, but had no answer. He began to wander around trying to find the room full of flames Henry had talked about. As he was exploring the dark space he noticed a light coming through the floor. David made his way towards the corner of the room and stood over the light, he knealt down to run his had over the floor. The floor was burning hot, he snatched his hand back quickly. He began to look around for something to break through the floor, he knew that was the room full of flames and he needed to get there, no matter what he had to do. The Prince saw a broken piece of floor laying in the corner of the room, he picked it up and crashed it into the floor as hard as he could causing not just the one square, but the entire floor to fall out from under him. He landed pretty hard on the floor below, and when he opened his eyes to look around he was a bit taken back at what he saw. The room was very hot and made vision almost impossible. At this moment he was very thankful they all decided not to send Henry back to this place. Suddenly, David heard a voice calling for Henry, but it wasn't Aurora, this was a voice he knew, it was Snow.

"Snow! What are you doing here?"

"Charming? What are you doing here? Where is Henry?"

"We decided not to send him back to this place, but we needed to get the message to you, so I volunteered to come instead."

"But that means you are under a curse? Charming why would you do that? What if you don't wake up?

"Snow! It's okay, you and Emma will come home and you will kiss me. Right now I need to give you Rumple's message."

Snow hated the idea that her prince was under this horrible spell back in StoryBrooke and she couldn't do anything about it at the moment, but she knew they needed to get the message before she woke up.

"Okay, what do we need to do?"

"Rumple said there was some squid ink in his cell, get it and it will allow you to trap Cora, and make your way to the portal. Rumple said to go to the lake, the one that returns to you what was lost. Throw in the compass and you will be able to return home."

At that moment Snow began to wake up, she started to cry at the idea that she had to leave her prince in this room. Snow tried to reach out to hold Charming but disappeared before she could reach him.

******Back to Gold's shop*****

Regina and Gold sat in the store watching David sleep, Henry had been taken to stay with Granny. It took about two minutes after David went under for Regina to remember that he would not wake up until Snow came home to kiss him, therefore not being able to tell them whether he delivered the message to Aurora. Usually Regina would have remembered this information, but with everything else on her mind she just wasn't thinking clearly. Rumple on the other hand knew Charming wouldn't wake up, as a matter of fact it worked in his favor. The Dark One had a plan, and it did not involve David, but it most definately involved Regina.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Regina stood over David as he was still under the sleeping curse, she took in a deep sigh and walked out of the backroom to the front of the store. Gold was standing behind the counter waiting for her.

"You know he is not going to wake up, so why do you even bother with checking in on him? It has been three days now and everyday you come here expecting some kind of miracle."

"You knew he wasn't going to wake up, why did you let him go under?"

"It matters not to us that he doesn't wake up, we have been given a golden opportunity now that he is asleep."

Regina looked at Gold a bit confused, but slowly began to realize that he had this planned out from the very beginning.

"What do you mean "WE'" have been given an opportunity? My son is devastated that Emma and Snow are gone, and now he has to watch his grandfather in this state? Why would I want to be a part of keeping him away from his happiness?"

"Ahh but you could be his happiness... You and that little girl could be his family, and young Henry will never know that you had anything to do with it."

"What are you babbling about? I had nothing to do with any of this! I truly wanted to help bring them home!"

"Yes, but think about it this way.. Emma and Snow are going against your mother, you know they are going to lose. Therefore Cora will be the one coming through the portal, not Emma and Ms Blanchard. Now how unpleasant will it be for you to have your mother here? I am sure she would just love to fullfill her new roll as Grandmama, especially when she finds out that you are carrying a child."

Regina was angry at all he was saying, but also very frightened because she new it was pretty much the truth. She knew how powerful her mother was and that Snow and Emma really didn't stand a chance. It would be horrible if Cora made it to StoryBrooke, Regina knew that Henry and her baby would suffer.

"What are you proposing we do?"

"Simple, we place a magical barrier over the portal. This will kill anyone that tries to pass through it, even Cora."

"But what if it's Emma and Snow? We can't kill them!"

"Ohhhh her majesty is developing a conscience. I recall a time when you wanted nothing more but Snow White's death, and killing Ms Swan seems to be icing on the cake. You then become Henry's sole provider."

"That was a different time, before Henry. I do not want him that way, and I do not ever want this baby to go through what I have put Henry through."

"Well, suit yourself, if we don't put the barrier on then Cora will most definatly come through and then you will lose everything anyway. But if we put the barrier on, then you will most certainly have your happiness. Henry is young, he will forget all about Emma Swan in time."

Regina did not want to do what Rumple was asking, but she knew that he was right about her mother and she most certainly did not want her coming through the portal. After a few moments of silence Regina agreed to help Gold.

"What do we need to do?"

Rumple smiled slyly at Regina, he was celebrating a mini victory. She had always been so easy to manipulate. Always so desperate to be happy that she would do almost anything for it. He had a plan and she was playing right into his hands, as she always had.

Regina had been staying at Mary Margaret's apartment with Henry since David went under the curse. As she stood in the doorway watching him sleep she wondered if what she was doing was the right thing. She knew deep down inside that it was wrong, but she could not risk her mother coming into StoryBrooke. But how would Henry feel about her if he ever found out that Ms Swan could have come back to him, and was killed because of what she and Gold had done. Gold was right, Henry would never know what happened. He would not be at the portal, and Regina and Gold could always tell him that Cora defeated Emma and Snow and that the portal had to be destroyed to keep her out. The longer Regina stood there the more she was beginning to convince herself that this was the right thing to do, and after it was all over she was going to take Henry and they were going to start a new life outside of StoryBrooke, just the three of them. She was brought out of her daydream by a knock on the door, it was Ruby coming over to sit with Henry while Regina went to work with Gold on the portal, of course Ruby thought they were preparing for Emma and Snow to cross through the portal. The two women didn't speak to each other, only shared a slight smile as Regina walked out the door.

Regina followed Gold into the mines to take all of the fairydust avaliable. They were going to need a lot of magic to create a barrier strong enough to kill Cora. Regina felt so uneasy the enitre time, she really did not want to do this. It was a very hard decision for her to make, she knew no matter what decision she made the outcome was not going to be good, so she decided to choose the worst of the two.

They made their way to the well which is where the portal was located, Mr Gold took the wand that held all of the fairy magic and stretched it out across the well created a web of magic so strong that it could kill the most powerful sorcerer. Regina stood back and watched, she did not want to be any more involved than she already was. As the barrier was complete Regina heard someone behind them, she turned to see Ruby and Henry running towards them, her heart dropped. Henry would know that she was helping Rumple, and if by some chance it was Mary Margaret and Emma that came through the portal, Henry would see them die and he would never forgive her for it.

Gold waved his hand and threw Ruby into the woods, Regina ran to Henry.

"Henry! What are you doing here?"

"Mom what are you doing? That could kill Emma and Snow when they come through! I thought changed, I thought you were trying to help!"

"Henry, I have changed and I am trying to help, but you don't understand. Emma and Snow will not be able to defeat my mother, she is too strong. This barrier will keep her out of StoryBrooke, it will kill her. If she comes here Henry it will be really really bad, and she will do anything to hurt me, which means you and the baby are in danger, and I will not let anything happen to you."

Henry looked into his mother's eyes, he knew she was doing what she thought was best, but he knew that good would defeat evil, and that Emma and Snow would be the ones coming through.

"I know that you love me, and I know you want to do the right thing! Please just once, believe in me! Know that I am not crazy. If you do love me then prove it by believing what I say."

Regina looked into Henry's eyes, she wanted so to believe him and trust what he was saying was true. She touched his face and smiled a bit at him as she turned around to face the well. Gold's smirk on his face was quickly wiped off when he realized what she was doing.

"Regina! Stop, don't! You aren't thinking clearly.. What about your child, think of what it might do to her!"

Regina knew she was taking a risk, but she needed to do it for Henry. Her little girl had to be strong, she was a part of Daniel so she had some fight in her. She reached over the well and took on all of the magic. The pain was very intense and Regina was afraid that it might be too much, but at least Henry would see that she truly did love him and wanted him to be happy, even if that meant giving up her life. Finally the magic was off and the barrier was broken, Regina fell to the side of the well trying to catch her breath praying that her baby was okay. The pain began to subside, but it was still hard to stand, so she leaned against a tree taking in slow, deep breaths. Henry just stood frozen, staring at his mom and back to the portal. He couldn't believe his mom had just done that, she really did care for him. The barrier was off now, and if Cora came through it would all be his fault for not listening to his mom. For what seemed like an eternity the three of them just stood and stared at the portal, afraid of who might be coming through. Suddenly a hand came up on the side of the well, then two more, Henry's heart was pounding almost out of his chest. Emma climed over the side of the well followed by Snow, Henry was so relieved to see them that he forgot all about Regina and ran straight into Emma's open arms. Snow didn't waste much time before she was running to find David to wake him from his curse. Emma, with Henry clinging to her side, walked over to Regina, who looked like she had been to hell and back.

"What happened?"

Henry looked over at his mom then up to Emma.

"She saved you, she saved you both. Gold put a magical barrier on the well and she took on all of the magic to save you and Snow."

Emma looked surprised at the idea that Regina had risked her life to save her and Mary Margaret. She wondered if there was a darker underlying reason, but decided to just thank Regina instead. Maybe she was trying to do better for Henry, she didn't know and didn't care at this point. She just reached down and hugged Henry again, so thankful to be back and that he was okay. Emma and Henry started to head back to town, leaving Regina standing there still against the tree trying to regain herself after the traumatic ordeal. Henry realized about halfway to town that Regina wasn't behind them. He stopped in the middle of the forest to turn around to look for her.

"Emma, where is my mom?"

Emma didn't know where Regina was or why she was not following behind. She didn't really understand why Henry was so concerned, but decided they should go back towards the well and check on her.

Regina was about to attempt to walk away from the tree that had been holding her up after the ordeal when she felt a pain in her abdomen. She immediately started crying and doubled over . In one moment she was in severe pain, and the next the world around her began to go dark, she passed out on the forest floor.

Emma and Henry made their way back toward the well, when Henry spotted Regina laying on the ground. He ran to her side and began to try to wake her.

"Mom! Mom! Wake up please!"

Tears began to run down his face as he realized that he could be losing his mom, all because he made her take off the magic. Emma ran over to where Regina was laying. Henry looked up at her with tears in his eyes

"Emma you have to help her! Please help her! We have to help her and the baby!"

Emma couldn't believe what she had just heard

"Baby? What baby Henry!?"

"My mom... She is going to have a baby."

Emma's eyes widened, Regina was pregnant?


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Emma and Henry sat in the waiting room of the hospital waiting to hear news about Regina and her baby. Henry sat in the chair swinging his feet back and forth, he was so frightened that he might lose his mother and his little sister all because he insisted that his mom remove the magical barrier from the portal. Emma moved over to sit next to him and wrapped her arm around his shoulders. She was still trying to process the fact that Regina was going to have a baby. So many questions ran through her mind, the main one being the paternity of the baby. Henry stood up and began to pace nervously in front of Emma. She reached her hand out and grabbed his, stopping him in front of her.

"Hey kid it's going to be alright, your mom and the baby will be fine I'm sure."

Henry looked up at her with hope in his eyes

"How can you be sure? I knew she didn't want to use magic, I didn't want her to use magic but I made her, and now she may die."

"Henry I am sure she is not going to die, your mom is a strong person. She won't give up that easily."

"What about the baby? How do you know they will both be okay?"

Honestly Emma wasn't sure if they would both be okay, she just wanted to comfort Henry in some way as she could see he was hurting and scared. She had no idea how to be a parent, what made her think that she could just take over the role of being his mom when she knew that in his mind Regina would always be his mother.

"I don't know kid, but why don't we just wait and see what the doctor says before we start jumping to conclusions. Here, why don't you go to the cafeteria and get you a drink and a snack."

"No, I want to be here when the doctor comes out."

"It's okay, i'll be right here and as soon as he comes out I will come find you so you can go see your mom."

Henry didn't want to leave, but he was a little hungry. So he took the money from Emma and headed down the hallway to the cafeteria. Emma took in a deep breath and leaned her head back in the chair. What was going to happen now? If everything turned out okay then there was going to be a baby brought into the middle of this entire mess. She closed her eyes just for a moment to try and relax and make sense of everything that had happened in the past hour. She was tapped on the shoulder bringing her out of her peaceful world she had just entered. She opened her eyes to see Dr. Whale standing in front of her.

"How is she? Or how are they should I say?"

"Fine, it was close there for a minute, thought we were going to lose the baby, but they both seem to be okay now. The baby's heartbeat is strong and Regina is starting to feel a little better. The magic was too much for her to handle in her condition. It is imperative that she not use any magic at all until after her baby is born. I would like to keep her for a few days just to watch over everything and keep a close eye on the baby. When she goes home I would like her to rest as much as possible for a while, and she will need someone to stay with her until she can get back on her feet."

Emma was very relieved to hear that they were both okay, which surprised her. Not that the baby was okay, but that Regina was. This women had done unspeakable evil, she had hurt so many people, and yet Emma was relieved she was okay. She knew that it was possible for people to change, she had, and she knew that Regina loved Henry more than anything else. Ms Swan knew that for Henry she needed to give Regina a chance.

"That's wonderful, I will stay with her when she goes home, because I am sure there will not be people lining up for the job. Can Henry go in and see her?"

"Yes, but only if he keeps it short. I would like for her to rest now as much as possible."

Dr. Whale left the waiting room just as Henry came running back in.

"Is she okay? What about the baby?"

"They are both fine Henry, your mom needs to stay here for a few days, and you and I are going to have to stay with her for a while after she gets home to help take care of her."

"Can I see her?"

"Yes, but Dr. Whale wants her to rest so keep it short."

Henry wasted no time to go into the room where Regina was

Emma stayed in the waiting room, she wanted to call Snow and David and let them know the situation. Obviously someone beat her to it, because just as she was dialing the number they both came through the doors of the hospital, followed by Ruby, and Grumpy. Snow ran up to Emma thinking that something had happened to Henry

"Emma! What's wrong? Where is Henry?"

"He is in there with Regina"

Snow saw Regina lying in a hospital bed and Henry sitting on the side of it holding her hand. Although she was relieved that Henry and Emma were okay she was confused as to why Regina was there.

"Emma, what's going on? What happened to Regina?"

"Well, apparently when Regina took the magic off of the portal it was too much for her, and she collapsed after we left. If Henry hadn't insisted we go back to check on her she and the baby might have died."

Snow's eyes widened at this news

"Baby? What baby? Is Regina pregnant?"

"Yes she is... I was just as shocked as you are."

"But whose the father?"

Emma shrugged her shoulders at this question, because she had no idea who the father could be. David, on the other hand, knew exactly who the father was. It was all making sense now. Regina not looking well the past few weeks, and her not wanting to use magic.

"I think I know who the father is, I believe it's Daniel."

Snow gave Charming a confusing look,

"But how can that be? Daniel is dead."

"It's a long story, I will tell you about it later. But he has to be the father."

The entire group was in complete shock at this information, could this be what Regina needed to change? They were not all completly convinced she was changing or that she was even capable of change.

Henry sat on the bedside talking with Regina, thankful that she and the baby were both okay.

"I'm glad you are both okay, and I'm sorry I asked you to remove the barrier. I didn't think it would hurt you or the baby."

Regina looked at her son with such love in her eyes

"Oh Henry no, it was not your fault at all! I am glad I removed it, because you were right. It's all over now, and everyone is home and safe. That is all that matters right now."

Henry crawled into the bed next to Regina and cuddled up next to her like he used too when he was very little. Regina's heart melted at the feeling of her son wrapping his arm around her. She had missed this closeness, and even though she had always loved him, she believed that at that moment she was feeling that overwhelming love for the very first time. They both laid there, quiet and still, listening to the sound of the baby's heartbeat filling up the room. Regina took in a deep breath and closed her eyes as she held Henry close.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

It had been four months since Emma and Snow had come back to StoryBrooke, and everything had been going smoothly. Emma and Henry had bought a house three doors down from Regina, so that Henry could go back and forth between houses as he pleased. He primarily lived with Emma, but he did love to visit his mom from time to time. Emma enjoyed the fact that she was close enough to keep an eye on Regina, who seemed to be fully reedeemed; although the trust was not fully there it was getting better. Regina was now seven months into her pregnancy and everything was going wonderfully. It had taken a couple of months for her to get her full strength back after the portal ordeal, but the baby was extremely healthy now and growing precisely on schedule. Regina and Henry had picked out a name, but they were keeping it a secret until the little girl was born. The rest of the town was coming around to trusting Regina, and getting much better at feeling comfortable around her. Snow was actually looking forward to the baby being born, and visited with Emma and Henry quite often to check on Regina and her condition. Regina had still not formally announced to the members of the town that Daniel was the father, but everyone knew he was, they had just decided to let it go. Everything seemed to be going so well in the town that everyone had almost forgotten about fairy tale land and the enemies that were there. Rumple, although secretly still working on a plan to get him to Bae, had settled into a life with Belle, and tried his best not to do anything to bring attention to himself. But, someone was making their way to the town that had a plan to throw everything into chaos.

A hand reached over the side of the well that had been forgotten about for the last four months. Cora pushed herself up and over the wall, she stood in the forest and surveyed her surroundings. She had made it to StoryBrooke finally, it had taken her some work to make the portal work again, but she had determination. She knew she had to be cautious entering the town, because would not be welcomed by most of the townspeople. Her hope was to try and convince Regina to forgive her, not because she cared, but because she needed Regina's help and needed her on her side. Regina was powerful and Cora did not want to go up against her. She decided that the person she needed to see first was Rumple, he could prepare her for what she would be walking into with Regina. Although she was convinced that it would be easy to get Regina to forgive her, Cora had no idea what she was really going to find out.

Rumple was working in the back room of his shop when he heard the belle on his front door start to ring. Thinking it was Belle he smiled and instructed her to come to the back where he was. He was surprised however to look up and see Cora standing in the doorway.

"Well well well... I knew it was only a matter of time before you made your way over here."

Cora smiled slyly at Rumple

"Of course I did, I have determination."

"Ha ha ha yes yes.. you have always been very determined. Now, what you could possibly want with this small little town."

"You know exactly what I want, I want my daughter back."

"And you think I can help you with that? Even if I could get Regina on your side, which is not as easy these days as it was many years ago, why would I?"

"She can't be that hard to manipulate, we both did it before, it can be done again."

"Things with Regina are very different now, you are in for quite a shock."

Gold turned to walk away when he realized that Cora being there might actually work out in his favor. He turned back to face her putting his finger in the air.

"Actually, there might be something that you could do for me, and I will stay out of your way and even help you some with winning your daughter over."

Cora looked at Gold very interested, knowing that she had just manipulated Rumple just as she does everyone.

"I knew you couldn't resist making a deal, what do you want from me. I shall do anything you ask as long as I can get Regina back on my side."

"Well, your daughter is going to have a child soon, and this child is very important."

Cora's eyes widened, this was something that she never expected, but she knew that it would make Regina more receptive, and weak.

"And just how will my future grandchild help you and how important is" Rumple interrupted her "She"

Cora smiled, "So it's a little girl."

Cora knew that this sweet little girl was going to be her ticket to Regina's heart.

"What do you want me to do? I assume it has something to with this special baby."

"This little baby was made in true love, plus having the power from her mother, makes her very special for me. This child will allow me to cross over the timeline without losing my memory, to take care of something."

Cora knew exaclty what Rumple wanted to do, but she didn't really care. Him leaving town worked better for her anyway. Her plan consisted of much more than just getting Regina back on her side.

"So, if I am understanding you, I am to get you this child when she is born?"

"Precisely dearie, I want the child. That is all you need to do, and I will help you with your daughter."

"Very well then, lets seal the deal as we used too."

Cora moved in to kiss Rumple, and Rumple pushed her away. No, I believe a handshake will do. Cora tilted her head and smiled, she took Rumple's hand a deal was struck.

Regina, Emma, and Henry sat down for dinner as they had done every Wednesday for the past four months. Henry was rambling on about his day at school, as Emma and Regina began to have their dinner when there was a knock on the door. Regina got up and made her way into the foyer of her home she opened the door and was astounded at what she saw.

"Mother!"


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

"Hello Regina"

"What are you doing here? How did you get through?"

"Determination my dear, I had to see you, and it looks as if I came just in time."

She placed her hand towards Regina's abdomen, but Regina defensively backed away. She was terrified because she knew she could not use magic, and she knew her mother could always have other motives.

"Regina, It's okay, I want to help you. I am sorry for everything I ever made you do, and I am sorry for killing Daniel."

Regina's hand immediately went to her stomach at the mention of Daniel's name. This registered to Cora who was very perceptive.

"So he is the father of the child, how did you manage to bring him back?"

"We are not going to discuss that, I want you to leave, you are not wanted here."

At this moment Emma, who had forced Henry into the kitchen, was standing behind Regina ready to help out in any way she needed. She knew Regina was at her most vulnerable.

"Regina, you should probably come back and..."

Regina interrupted Emma before she could finish her sentence by putting her arm up, "Emma, it's okay, take Henry home."

She turned and gave Emma a reasurring look to let her know she was okay. Emma reluctantly went to get Henry from the kitchen to take him home.

Regina turned back to look at Cora

"Now, I believe I asked you to leave."

Cora had at this point figured out that Regina either did not want to hurt her, or she could not use her magic. She also noticed how much softer Regina was, Rumple was right, she had changed, and she was going to be much harder to win over.

"Regina, wait, please give me another chance. I want to be the mother that you always wanted me to be, and I want to be a grandmother to this little girl, and Henry. These people seem to have given you a second chance, why not give me one? I want to redeem myself."

Regina wanted more than anything to trust her mother and just hug her and allow Cora to hold her. She knew that Cora spoke some truth, she had been given a second chance and an opportunity to redeem herself. Her words were so identical to the same words she had used herself not too long ago.

"Mother, I do love you, but I can't trust you. You have manipulated me before."

"You don't have to trust me, just put me on a trial basis. I will prove to you that I can be trusted now, and that I am sincere in what I am saying."

Regina knew in her head that it was not a smart decision to believe her mother, but it would be nice to have her around, especially now with the baby coming. Regina did have Henry back in her life but she was lonely. She made the decision to allow her mother to stay until after the baby was born, then she would reevaluate the situation. She also knew that her mother was in StoryBrooke now, and there was no changing that, so if she let her stay then she could keep a close eye on her and keep her away from Henry.

With a heavy sigh Regina told her mother her decision

"You may stay, your trial basis will last until the baby is born, you step out of line one time and that's it! I will destroy you mother, I don't want too, but to keep people safe, especially my children I will do anything."

Cora smiled, knowing that she had succeded in her goal, she just had to play nice until after the child was born, then she could begin with her real plan.

Regina opened the door and allowed her mother to enter her home, she felt a bit uneasy about it, but she hoped her feelings were wrong. She showed Cora around the house teaching her how to use the basic ammenties, found her some clothes, and showed her to a bed. After Cora was sleeping Regina made her way back downstairs, she was exughsted but she did not want to sleep just yet. This was the first moment that she wished she wasn't pregnant for just the night so that she could clear out an entire bottle of wine. She settled for a hot cup of tea instead. Just as Regina sat down on the couch to enjoy her tea there was a knock at the door. Frustrated that she had been interrupted, Regina let out a big sigh as she got up to answer the door. She was tempted not to answer, but with Henry not being with her every moment she always worried it could be something about him. As she opened the door she was a bit surprised to see Emma Swan standing there.

"Emma, what are you doing here? Where's Henry?"

"He is at home asleep, Mary Margaret is with him. He was really worried about you being here with Cora alone, so I promised I would come check on you."

Even though there relationship had definitely been better lately, it was still a bit rocky, but it always warmed Regina's heart to know that Henry did care for her. She smiled at Emma

"I am fine, mother is sleeping and I had just sat down for some tea, care to join me?"

Emma laughed

"I would love to join you, but I would prefer something stronger than tea, Ya got that?"

"Yes, matter of fact if I could I would have had an entire bottle of wine by now."

"Yea I can understant that, been a wild evening."

Regina and Emma made their way into the sitting room, sitting opposite each other Emma decided to question Regin'a motives for allowing her mother to stay.

"So.. do you honestly think that Cora is being sincere about all of this?"

"Honestly Ms Swan I have no idea, but I feel as though I need to give her a chance. You and I are both proof that people can change if there is someone there to believe that they can. And mother has nothing that she could want now, there is no desire for power anymore. She had that in Wonderland, she would never have left if she wanted to keep power. I have to believe she wants to be here for me."

Emma knew how Regina was feeling, she wanted her mother to love her so despeartely that she was willing to give a most evil person another chance. In a sense Emma and Regina were the same. Emma had always felt abandoned by her parents, and always felt alone. Regina was the same way, even though her mother was physically present, she was not there for Regina when she needed a mother, and therefore Regina had always been alone.

"I can understand you wanting her here Regina, the others in town are very concerned. They wanted to come here and take Cora to hang from the nearest tree, which with her magic would be impossible to do, but they are upset. I told them I trust your judgement on her. I just hope she is not using you for some ultimate plan."

"If she is using me I will figure it out, I am much smarter now than I was at 18. Besides if she is here then I can keep an eye on her and help keep the rest of you safe."

"Regina, you have to be careful, you know you can't use your magic until the baby is born."

"I know and I am not going to use it, trust me. If I see there is any danger from her I will inform you all, and we will figure something out. Honestly, I am really happy she is here, I was alone the entire time with Henry, it will be nice to have some help with an infant in the house again."

Emma could understand her wanting her mother there for that, but this made her want to ask the question she had wanted to ask since she first met Regina, especially after she got to know her a little better, and learned her personality. So she decided to just go ahead with it.

"Regina, why did you adopt Henry? You were a single women, running a town, seems to me that you would be pretty happy with your life and, now knowing who you really are, it was your happiness. I guess what I am trying to say is, what would the Evil Queen want with an infant?'

Regina sat quiet for a moment, she knew that at some point this question would come up, she decided to tell Emma the truth. The truth was something she had not spoken of in a very long time, and something that only a few people knew about, Regina being the only one left alive.

"That is not an easy thing for me to talk about, I have actually never told anyone my real reason for wanting Henry."

Emma was a bit afraid of what she was going to be told, she knew Regina was not the best person when she adopted Henry, and if the reason for her wanting him happened before the curse then it could only be bad.

"Regina, if you don't want to tell me, it's okay I was just curious."

"No, I want to tell you, it might actually help to tell someone about it. I had just married the King, your grandfather, Snow was still very young, I was very young. I was so very unhappy, I had lost the one man I truly loved, and was forced to marry someone that I didn't even know. Not long after I was married I found out I was going to have a child, the King was overjoyed, I was upset at first, but began to think that the baby could be my second chance at happiness. Before we got the chance to tell anyone I lost the baby. I was so devastated, I had lost Daniel, then the one thing that I thought could save me from the depression was taken from me too. It put me in a very dark place, a place that I couldn't get out of for a very long time. When Gold showed up on my doorstep with this beautiful baby boy all I could think of was the child I never got the chance to know. I quickly fell in love with Henry, but it wasn't until recently that I realized how much I actually love him. He taught me how to love again."

Emma was almost speachless, she was actually feeling sorry for Regina, which was something she thought she would never do! This women that she thought was a sociopath not a year ago, she was learning more and more and almost understanding why Regina ended up the way she did. She was broken and alone and Rumple came in a seized opportunity. Emma thought back to something Regina had said before, "Evil isn't born it's made." Regina was not born evil, she was made that way.

"Regina... I don't know what to say... I am so sorry. I can not imagine what you went through, all of the pain you suffered."

"Yes, well, it really doesn't excuse all that I did in retalliation. I will never be able to apologize enough to your parents, or anyone else in this town. I can only try to do better each day, and prove that I have changed."

Emma smiled at Regina, "I truly believe that you have." She looked up at the clock and realized how late it was. "Wow, I guess I better get going. I need to let Mary Margaret go home, and you need your rest. Are you sure that you are okay with your mom here?"

Regina smiled and nodded her head, "Yes, I will be fine. I really think she means what she says this time, and I need to give her a chance."

"Well, just know that I am right down the street if you need anything, I promised Henry I wouldn't let anything happen to you and I intend to keep that promise."

Regina thanked Emma for her concern as she opened the door to allow her out. As she closed to the door she took in a deep breath and closed her eyes. She placed her hand on her stomach to calm the little girl inside that had just become very active. She looked up the stairs and hoped that everything would be okay with her mother, that the townspeople were wrong and that she was really there for her. She knew this was going to be a delicate situation and that she would have to watch her mom closely, because with Cora anything was possible. She went through the house turning out the lights, and headed upstairs to bed. Hoping that all would still be well in the morning.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

As the sun rose on StoryBrooke one Autumn morning Cora snuck out of the home she had been sharing with her daughter ever so quietly. Regina was having a difficult time sleeping now because she was so close to having her baby, so Cora knew to be extra quiet. She made her way out to the edge of the woods where she had been meeting Rumple one morning a week for two months coming up with a plan to take Regina's baby. This was to be the final meeting before they enacted the plan, which was to happen that evening. Cora was going to be the main driving force for the plan. Regina trusted her now, she thought Cora was really there for her, Rumple thought Cora was there to help him, when in all reality, Cora was there to benefit Cora. Rumple smirked as he saw Cora walking toward him.

"Well well.. last meeting before you steal your daughter's most precious possesion from her. My my you are cold."

"Regina doesn't need this baby, it's just a distraction. I have plans for her and they do not include a screaming infant. Besides, she will be devastated when you take her little girl over that line, and I will be there to comfort her. She has been very dificult to win over this time, she needs to be totally broken to open up to me completely."

Rumple just laughed as he looked down at his shoes, "Is everything in order?"

"Yes, all you have to do is wait outside of the cemetary. When the child is born I will bring her to you, and you must immediately disappear."

Rumple nodded his head and reached into his pocket. He pulled out a small bottle filled with a purple liquid.

"Give this to Regina about an hour before you go to the graveyard. Her labor should start at the perfect time for you."

Cora took the bottle and placed it into her pouch, and turned away from Rumple heading further into the woods to meet with her secret weapon.

As Cora entered a clearing deep into the forest she smiled as she looked at a small cage sitting in the middle of the clearing. Inside the small cage was a man that was sleeping, but jumped awake when he heard Cora walking. He was angry and frightened, "Let me out of here witch! Why do you have me here?!"

Cora tilted her head back and laughed, "You will get out in due time, soon actually. I have a plan for you and the thirst you have for revenge against humans."

"Plan, what plan?"

"I am going to give you your size back, and allow you to have free range over the town. You can destroy anything you want, and anyone for that matter. The only stipulation is that you are to leave me and my daughter alone, I have your heart, and all I need do is squeeze and you will die. You will do as I say."

"Why do you need me to do this? What do you get out of it?"

"You are basically a distraction for me, and you get to have your revnege, so we both win."

The giant knew Cora was not to be trusted, but what choice did he have, she had total control.

Cora reached down and opened the cage, releasing the undersized giant. She reached into her pouch and pulled out a mushroom.

"Here, eat this, you will get your size back. I want you to wait here for a while, I will let you know when I need you to enter the town to begin causing your chaos."

The giant took the mushroom, he immediately grew back to his normal size. Although he wanted to jump crush the witch he knew it would only hurt him. Cora turned away from him and headed back toward the town. Pleased with how her plan was all coming together as she desired.

Regina opened her eyes as the sun began to peek through the windows, she inhaled a deep breath, taking in the warm Autumn sun. She was really very tired, this little girl was not allowing her a good nights sleep, and she knew it was going to continue after she was born, but it was going to be worth it. She was not going to make the same mistakes with this baby like she did with Henry, this little girl was her second chance, her gift.

Cora came into the house just as Regina was coming down the stairs for breakfast.

"Mother, what are you doing out so early?"

"I had a little trouble sleeping, so I decided to get out to see the sun rise. You look beautiful this morning Regina, I can't wait to see how beautiful this little girl is going to be."

Regina smiled slightly,"Hopefully we won't have to wait too much longer, I am getting really uncomfortable."

"I think it will happen sooner than you think."

Regina smiled at the thought that she would see her sweet little girl soon. "Well shall we have some breakfast?"

"Yes, but you let me handle that, you just have a seat."

Thinking her mother was being nothing but kind, Regina complied and moved to the table, she was very relieved to just be able to sit down. Cora went into the kitchen to prepare some breakfast for them. As she made the coffee she stratigically poured the potion given to her by Rumple into the cup to give her daughter. She remembered the cup she placed it in because Regina had been drinking Decaf coffee because of the pregnancy. Cora took the coffee and breakfast into the dining area and sat down. They held short conversation as they ate, and Regina consumed her entire cup of coffee laced with the labor inducing potion. As they finished up their breakfast Cora looked into Regina's eyes to request an outing that would turn the day into a day that Regina would never forget.

Emma was placing Henry on the bus when he turned to her, "You promised me that you would go check on my mom today, will you? We haven't seen her very much since Cora arrived and I'm a little worried."

Emma knew that Henry was worried, she had been keeping a close eye on Regina since Cora had arrived, because she still didn't trust Cora. She had kept this information from Henry because she wanted to keep him safe.

"I will go by and check on her today Henry I promise."

Henry smiled at her as he got on the bus and headed to school.

Regina looked at Cora with a confused look on her face. "You want to go where?"

"I want to visit your father's grave inside the moselium. I need to close that chapter by apologizing to him."

Regina thought it strange that her mother wanted to go to the grave, but she was still trying to trust her and believe that she was telling her the truth. She so wanted her mother to be a part of her life, as well as the lives of her children.

"Okay mother, if that is something that you want to do, we can leave in an hour."

Cora froze, she knew she needed to get Regina to the graveyard soon. The potion would be having an effect on her shortly and she did not want Regina in an available place to get to a hospital. She needed Regina to be alone for her plan to work.

"Oh, couldn't we just go now?"

"Well.. yes I guess we could."

As Regina went into the kitchen to gather her things, Cora decided it was time to summon the giant. She took his heart out of a bag and began speaking into it telling him to come into the town to get his revenge.

Regina stood in the kitchen with her hands on the countertop, she had just experienced an odd pain shooting through her abdomen. As she closed her eyes and took in a deep breath Cora entered the room. "Are we ready to go?" Regina opened her eyes and looked at her mother, she was confused at what she had just experienced, but didn't want to alarm Cora. Especially if the pain was nothing. "Umm.. yes, I think I have everything." Cora was very anxious to get going, she wanted out of the town before the giant showed up, she knew Regina would try to stop him. As they got into the car Regina noticed Emma's bug pulling into the driveway. Cora rolled her eyes aggravated that they were not already at the cemetary. She knew her time was running out on that potion, and that Regina's labor would begin very soon. To add to Cora's aggravation Regina stepped out of the car to meet Emma in the driveway.

"Emma, is there something I can do for you?"

"No, I was just coming by to check on you, Henry was getting a bit worried since he hasn't seen you in a while. He is concerned with you being here alone with Cora."

"So you came by to make sure we are not planning a massive destruction of the town, sorry to dissapoint you Ms Swan, but we are both getting along just fine. Mother meant what she said, she has changed."

Emma was a bit taken a back by Regina's quick to snap at her. Eight months ago it wouldn't have surprised her at all, but recently Regina has been much nicer, calmer and softer.

"I simply came by to check on you because I promised Henry, I trust you Regina. I don't trust Cora. I'm sorry if you think differently."

As Emma turned to leave Regina let out a scream. Emma quickly turned around to see her on her knees in pain. She ran to her side.

"Regina! Is it the baby?"

"Yes, I believe I am in labor."

Emma knew she needed to act quickly and get Regina to the hospital, by this time Cora had gotten out of the car. She saw Regina on the ground and knew what she had feared had happened, but the potion should not have gone into full affect this quickly. The only thing she could think was that labor had come on natuarally. Quick on her feet Cora tried to quickly come up with a way to still get Regina to the graveyard, but by the time she could come up with a plan Emma already had Regina in the car.

"Cora! Let's go! We need to get Regina to the hospital!"

For the first time ever Cora had no words, she couldn't manipulate her way out of this, so she would just have to play along and go to the hospital. She would come up with a new plan while she was there. As they pulled out into the street Emma saw the giant crushing through the streets of StoryBrooke.

"How the hell did he get here?!"

Regina wasn't paying any attention to what was going on as the pains were coming back to back. She was really frightened that they wouldn't make it to the hospital.

"Emma! You need to drive faster!"

"I am going as fast as I can Regina, but we need to go get Henry!"

Regina looked over at Emma shocked that she had just suggested driving by Henry's school when she knew that time was of the essence. Then she looked ahead of them and saw the giant. She knew then that they definately needed to get Henry.

Emma flew the car into the Emergency Room entrance of the hospital, she helped Regina get inside, and got Henry settled in the waiting room. Cora followed Regina into the delivery room.

Emma then immediately left the hospital to go and fight the giant issue with her parents. Snow and Charming were trying to get people to safety when Emma showed up. Snow looked up to see Emma standing beside her.

"Emma! You need to go get Henry, take him to Regina. She can keep him safe!"

"Henry is at the hospital with Regina."

"What?! The baby?"

"Yep! So how do we deal with him?"

"By doing what we are doing until we come up with a plan."

"You defeated ogres, how is this any different?"

"He is a lot smarter than the ogres!"

The giant was destroying everything he could find, throwing cars into buildings, and pulling trees out of the ground to use as a weapon. Snow, Charming and Emma were dodging everything he threw trying to figure out a way to stop him.

Cora stood in the corner of the hospital room watching Regina going through more pain than she had ever experienced. She felt nothing for her, no compassion for her child. She knew this was not a good thing, but she didn't care. All she cared about was getting her hands on that little girl, giving her to Rumple, and getting control of his dagger. With the dagger she could control The Dark One and make him do anything she wanted. She would be unstopable. This put a smirk on her face, thinking of the power she would soon posses. Regina was crying because of the pain, she reached her hand out to Cora. Reluctantely Cora took her hand in her own.

"It's okay Regina, it will all be over soon."

Regina sobbed, "I miss Daniel, I want him here for this. My sweet baby will never know her father, and Daniel will never know that she even exists."

Cora knew her daughter was in pain, both physically and mentally, but she just didn't care. Dr. Whale then entered the room to check on Regina, he asked Cora to leave the room for the moment. Cora used this opportunity to stop the giant, she no longer needed him since her plan was foiled. She had a new plan, and it might actually work better this way. She pulled out his heart only to be startled by Whale, "It won't be much longer now, the baby should be here within the hour." Cora gave him half a smile, and turned back to the heart. She crushed it into dust, turned around and entered back into the room of a screaming Regina.

Emma jumped sideways landing on her back trying to avoid a flying truck. Snow ran to help her up, and both women looked up at the giant in just enough time to see him falling to the ground. None of them were quite sure what had just happened, but happy that the chaos was over. David looked at the giant, and then looked Snow and Emma

"Now what are we going to do with this?"

Emma looked at David

"I don't know but you need to handle it, I need to get back to the hospital to check on Henry and Regina."

Snow grabbed Emma's arm, "Go! We will take care of this."

Regina let out one last scream as she pushed the baby out. She fell back onto the bed as she heard her sweet baby let out her first cry, it was the most beautiful sound she had ever heard.

"Is she okay?"

Dr. Whale wrapped the baby up and handed her to Regina, "She is perfect Regina."

Regina looked down at the sweet little face, and could see Daniel's nose, and her mouth. She was a perfect combination of both of them. Tears ran down her face and she felt an overwhelming feeling of happiness, also remorse for everything she had done. She thought back to when she enacted the curse, she ripped Snow's baby from her, she looked at her little daughter and couldn't imagine being separated from her for a moment, let alone 28yrs. Regina looked over at Cora who was still standing by her side not even remotely emotional looking down at her little grandaughter.

"Look at her mother, isn't she lovely!"

Cora forced a smile on her face, "Yes sweetheart, she is very lovely, she looks much like you did when you were first born. This made Regina beam from ear to ear. This little girl was her little girl, this sweet little life that she made was also a part of Daniel. At that moment there was a knock on the door, and Henry ran into the room heading straight towards his mom and his new sister. Regina smiled big at him,

"Here she is Henry!"

Emma followed into the room, she smiled at Regina, "How do you feel?"

"Tired, but filled with so much joy!"

Emma knew that feeling, even if she had given Henry up for adoption she still knew that feeling of just complete joy, and love. She smiled as she looked at Henry, who was prouder than anything to be a big brother. She looked on as Regina had one arm around her son and they were both looking at the sweet pink bundle. Cora just stood there waiting patiently for her moment.

"Regina, what is her name?"

Regina smiled at Henry, "Do you want to tell them, or should I?"

Henry looked at Emma and smiled, "Joana, her name is Joana Mills."

Regina finished by saying "It means Gift, and that's what she is, my gift, my second chance."

The nurse came in and explained to Regina that she needed to take the baby to have her weighed and cleaned up. Reluctantly she handed the baby to the nurse. Henry gladly volunteered to go along with her and keep an eye on her. Cora saw this as her opportunity, so she gladly volunteered to go as well.

Henry stood outside the nursery window watching every single thing they did with his new little sister. He was so proud and happy, he was going to protect her from everything and teach her all of the things Regina had taught him how to do. Cora walked up beside Henry, praising him by telling him what a good big brother he was going to make, she then asked him if he would go to the cafeteria and get her a snack, as well as some candy for himself. As much as he wanted to stay with Joana, he was a bit hungry.

"Will you stand here and watch her? I won't be long."

"Of course I will, she won't be alone for a moment."

Henry rushed down the hallway toward the cafeteria. Cora wasted no time in transforming herself into the nurse, she walked straight into the nursery, picked up baby Joana, and walked out. When she got around the corner she disappeared in a cloud of blue smoke, re-appearing on the road out of StoryBrooke. Gold was waiting there for her, "You are late dearie."

"I am so sorry but you can't rush nature, the delivery did not go as planned and I had to come up with a new idea. But we made it here, as I promised here is my granddaughter, a magical product of true love. Your ticket to cross the line without losing your memory."

Rumple took the sweet sleeping baby and placed her in the car, he slyly grinned at Cora and jumped into the drivers seat. Cora knew she needed to get back quickly before they started to put pieces together. She made it back just in time for the nurses to begin to freak out because the baby was missing. She made herself appear very upset as she rushed back to Regina's room. When Regina saw the look on her mother's face her heart sank.

"Mother! What is it? What has happened?!"

"It's Rumple... He came in and took the baby!"


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Regina's heart sank to her stomach at the sound of those words, Rumple had her sweet little girl, why she didn't know but she knew it could not be for anything good. All she knew was that she had to get her back and soon!

"What do you mean Rumple took her?! You were supposed to be watching her! Where is Henry? Does he know?"

Just then Henry entered back into the hospital room, "Know what? What's going on?"

Emma ran over to him, placing her arm around him, "It's okay kid, everything will be alright, why don't you go sit in the waiting room and let Regina get a little rest, I'm going to call Ruby to come get you. Go home and get started on your homework."

Henry was frustrated, everyone was always treating him like a baby, and he was getting a little annoyed with it. "No! I want to know what happened! I am old enough to handle it!"

Emma looked over at Regina who was just distraught with tears, she knew this could all end very badly. "Okay Henry, but if I tell you will you promise me that you will let Ruby take you home?"

Reluctantly Henry promised, "I guess so..."

"Rumple got into the nursery somehow and took baby Joana, we don't know why or how, but we are going to find her I promise!"

Henry's heart sank, he knew he shouldn't have left her, and something inside told him that Rumple didn't act alone. He cut his eyes over to Cora, who was standing in the corner of the room untouched by the fact that this evil man had her granddaughter. He would go home, but that did not mean he was going to stay there, he would do a search all his own for his sister, and he would start by checking out Cora.

"I will go home, if I can go to my mom's house. I would feel better being there."

Emma was not sure why he had asked to go to Regina's but thought it was harmless, if it made him feel better and got him away from the hospital she didn't care where he went.

"Okay, go wait in the waiting room for Ruby, and I promise we are going to find her."

Emma walked over to Regina's bedside, "Emma you have to help me find her! Please!"

"Whoa! You aren't doing anything but staying in this bed Regina, you just went through a pretty rough experience and you need to gather your strength and get some rest!"

Regina started to argue back, but she knew that it was pointless. She knew Emma was right. She was no help in the state she was in. As much as she hated the idea of having to sit in that bed, just waiting, she knew it was for the best. She grabbed Emma's hand and looked at her in the eyes. "Please bring my baby back to me, don't let him harm her!" Emma grabbed Regina's hand to reassure her, "I will, I promise." She looked over at Cora, who was still standing in the corner of the room. "Cora, are you going to come help?"

Cora knew where Rumple had taken the baby, and she wanted her gone so there was no way she was going to lend a helping hand to the Charmings.

"Umm.. no, I am going to stay here with Regina.

Emma did not think this too odd, matter of fact she thought it a good idea. Someone needed to stay with Regina to make sure she stays where she is. Little did she know that Cora had other plans. Emma shook her head agreeing with Cora and left the hospital room.

Regina looked up at Cora, searching for some kind of comfort and compassion. "Mother, why would he take her? What could he possibly want with her?"

Cora looked down at her daughter, feeling absolutely nothing for her, or the baby that was just ripped away. She had one thing on her mind, she wanted the power of the Dark One, for with that power, she will be unstoppable.

"I am not sure my love, did you make a deal with him?"

"Any deals we have made with each other have all been paid"

"Well, there is a way that we can get him back."

Regina looked into Cora's eyes with so much hope in hers.

"How?! I will do anything needed to get my baby back."

Cora smiled slightly, "We must find his dagger, with that, we can summon him back to town. He will have no choice, then we can control him, and force him to give Joanna back to you."

With this knowledge Regina began to have so much hope, "You really think that will work? How do you know he won't hurt her before he comes back?"

"Yes my dear it will work, he won't harm her, Rumple never takes anything unless it is useful to him. Joanna is of some use to him, what I don't know, but she is most definitely worth more to him alive I am sure."

Regina trusted her mother more than she did the Charmings, she knew that Cora knew Rumple better than anyone else, and this seemed to be the quickest, and the safest way to get her sweet daughter back into her arms.

Ruby and Henry arrived at Regina's house, and Henry immediately ran upstairs to Regina's bedroom. Ruby thought he just needed some time, so she decided to let him be alone for a while. She made her way into the living room to read a book. Henry began to go through all of Regina's belonggings trying to find anything that could help him figure out why Rumple would take his new sister. He stumbled upon a book in a small bag in the corner of the room, it didn't seem to belong to his mom, so it must be Cora's. The book had a plan drawn out, and this plan confirmed Henry's fear, and made his heart drop. Cora had been working with Rumple, and her plan after she became the dark one was to kill everyone in the town, including his new sister.


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Regina and Cora stood in the middle of Gold's shop rummaging through all of his belonggings actively searching for the dagger, Regina could not get her sweet little girl off of her mind, she was so afraid that Rumple would harm her, but she knew her mother was right in the fact that he would not harm anything that was valuable to him, and Joanna had some value to him or he would have never taken her. Cora, however, had other things on her mind. She was filled with excitement at the idea of the power she was going to possess when she killed the dark one. She looked over at her daughter to see if she had made any progress in her search, she took in Regina's pale color, and could see how weak she was. She knew that she shouldn't have made Regina leave her hospital bed, that it was dangerous for her to be doing so much strenuous work a matter of hours after giving birth, but she just didn't care. She knew her emptiness resulted from the fact that she did not posses her heart anymore, but with her heart she could not gain the power she so desired, love was weakness, and even though she didn't have a heart she did know that Regina would be her weakness.

"Any luck Regina? It has to be here someplace. Rumple is smart, so it will be hidden in a very safe place."

"Mother I don't think it is here, he wouldn't hide something so important right under our noses."

Cora found a box of potions hidden under the counter, "I wonder if there is anything in her that could help us?" She pulled out a bottle clearly labeled _**To aquire what you most desire**_, "Here we go, this should lead us right to what we want." Cora opended the bottle and a purple haze floated out and drifted across the room, surrounding a globe sitting on the countertop. Cora and Regina circled around the globe, waiting for the the purple haze to diminish. What it revealed was a blinking dot on the spot where the dagger was hidden. Cora looked at Regina with confusion, "Do you know where this is?"

Regina knew exaclty where the dagger was hidden, "Yes, I do! In the forest, at the well. He has hidden the dagger in the most unlikely place."

Cora and Regina immediately left the store heading for the outskirts of town to retrieve the source to the Dark One's powers.

Emma, Mary Margaret, and David had searched the entire town looking for Rumple and Joanna, coming up with no leads. They all knew in thier hearts that he had left town with the baby therefore, losing all hope of ever finding her. They decided to head back to Regina's house to check in on Henry before going back to the hospital to inform Regina of their findings. As they entered the house they found Ruby still sitting in the library reading her book. Emma headed upstairs to check on Henry, only to discover he was missing. She ran downstairs to confront Ruby, "Where is he?!" Ruby looked confused, "He was upstairs, I haven't seen him come down." Emma looked at her parents. "He's gone, Henry's run away."

Henry stood outside of Gold's store watching Regina and Cora inside staring at the globe. He could barely hear what they were saying, but did hear Regina say that the dagger was at the well. As they exited the store he darted behind a parked car hiding from them. He waited patiently as they left town, waiting for them to get out of sight before he left. He headed back to Regina's house and left a note on the door, telling his mom and grandparents where to find them, then headed out of town toward the well. He knew there was no time to explain to them what was happening, he needed to get to the well and warn Regina about Cora before she obtained the power of the Dark One. Only he could stop Cora now, and save his mom and his little sister.


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

Rumple stood on the streets of New York City, staring up at the tall apartment building. Baby Joanna squirmed in his arms, letting out a little cry that sounded like a puppy. Rumple looked down at her taking in a big sigh and rolling his eyes, "Just wait little one, as soon as we find my son I am taking you back to your mother, your purpose for me has almost been fullfilled." He walked inside and pressed the buzzer to the apartment he knew to be his son's. A few moments later a man walked down the steps, Rumple's heart filled with excitement and nerves. It had been so long since he had seen his son, and they had not parted on good terms. The man looked at him, "Papa... How did you find me?" Rumple could barely speak, "I have my ways Bae, please can we talk." Bae looked at his father with confusion, wondering why he was holding such a tiny baby, and as much as he didn't want to speak with his father he feared what might happen to the child if he didn't. "It's Neal, my name is Neal now. Where did you get the baby? What are you planning on doing with her?"

"She is just a tool, a necessary item for me to hold on too for a little while, she's not important."

"She is important to somebody I am sure, now why do you have her?"

"I needed her to leave the cursed town I have been living in for 28yrs. without her I lose my memory. I will be returning her to her mother when I return back to StoryBrooke. I want you to come with me."

Neal did not even want to speak with his father, let alone go with him anywhere, but he felt as though he would need too just to make sure the baby stayed safe. Suddenly he began to see his father acting strangely, he was starting to fade away. "Bae! They found my dagger! Hurry grab my arm before I disappear!" Reluctantely Bae reached through the gate in beween them and grabbed on to his father's arm, finding himself in almost the same position he was in all those years ago.

Cora stood at the well feeling every stone to find a possible hiding place for the dagger. Regina searched on the opposite side trying so desparately to find her key to getting her daughter back. Suddenly Cora pushes on a loose stone and the dagger falls to her feet, a smile comes across her face as she picks it up and examines it. "At last! I will have all of the power." Regina looks up at her mother, "What did you say? Was this all just to get your power?" Cora knew that she could drop the charade at this point, but she decided to keep Regina going, "No sweetheart! I meant I have the power to get Joanna back and destroy Rumple once and for all, permantely keeping you and your children safe."

Back in town Emma and her parents bolt out of Regina's house on their way now to search for Henry. Mary Margaret discovers the note befor they leave the porch, "Wait! Henry left a note! The forest at the well, that's where he is gone, to protect Regina? What's going on?" Emma's eyes widened, "I don't know, but whatever it is I bet it involves Cora, which means it can not be good." They all three jumped into David's truck and peeled out of town.

Henry stood behind a tree watching every move Cora and Regina made, trying to come up with a way to stop her. He needed to get Regina to see the plan Cora had, but it was too dangerous to get in Cora's way at that moment. She had the dagger and would have thought nothing of killing him and Regina at that point. He also needed her to summon Rumple first, so that his sister could return.

Cora stared at the dagger and began calling Rumpl's name, summoning him to the well, and back to StoryBrooke. A purple cloud of smoke began to form, leaving the two men standing there, with one of them very confused as to where he was. Regina started to run for Rumple to retrieve her daughter, but with a wave of his arm Rumple threw Reigna on to the forest floor. He had figured out Cora's plan, and had one of his own. "So, this was your plan all along... Fool us all into thinking you were in it to help each one of us, but really you were just in it for yourself. Well, you are not going to defeat me so easily dearie. If you want your granddaughter alive, you will return my dagger to me."

Emma ran into the forest with her parents trailing behind her finding Henry, "Henry! What are you doing? You need to leave now!"

"I'm not going anywhere! I am tired of being treated like a baby! I figured out Cora's plan, and I am going to stop her from killing my mom and my siter."

"Henry, you are being really brave and noble, but you can not go up against Cora's magic, this is something you are going to have to let them fight."

"But what about Joanna? She is an innocent baby, and my mom is too weak to fight. Plus she hasn't used her magic in so long that it may not work as well anymore. Please Emma! Please don't let them die!"

Emma knew Henry was right, but how were they going to stop two of the most powerful people in town. She looked over to the well to see Gold and Cora having a stare down, she saw Regina on the ground trying to compose herself, then she saw a familiar face that she thought she would never see again, and especially not in StoryBrooke! "Henry! who is that man with Gold?"

"I don't know, he showed up with Mr. Gold when Cora summoned him."

Regina regained her composer and while her mother and Rumple were arguing she decided to go for her daughter again, at this point all she wanted was her and her mother and Rumple could fight it out all they wanted, she just wanted to get Joanna to safety. Although in the middle of a heated argument Rumple could still sense Regina coming for him and at he was not about to give in so easily, with a wave of his arm he again threw Regina to the ground, but as he did this Neal took the opportunity to grab the baby and run for the trees making it to Emma before Rumple could stop him. Shock completely covers his face as he sees Emma, so many thoughts and questions run through both of their minds, but they no they have no time to talk, not now. He hands her the baby and she in turn hands her to Snow who makes her way back into town taking the baby to safety.

Regina sees the heroic actions from the ground and smiles at the thought that her baby was now safe. Rumple is devestated that he son would betray him like that, and now knows that he is done. Cora had the ultimate advantage now, and what she was going to do with it was very scary. She raised her hands in the air, ready to come down into Rumple's chest with the knife.

In the middle of all of the chaos of getting baby Joanna to safety Emma lost track of Henry, she frantically looked around for him, only to look up and see him jumping in the middle of Cora and Rumple. She saw the dagger come down and enter Henry's chest.

Regina jumped from the ground and ran to Henry in enough time to catch him as he fell, Emma was trying to get to him, but Neal was holding her back for fear of her safety. Regina looked into Henry's eyes, as tears fell down his face. "Mom..." Regina could barely breathe, she felt as thought the life was leaving her body, just as it was leaving Henry's "I'm here Henry, I will not leave you." She looked around for Gold, who was lying on the ground unconscious, she turned her attention back to Henry, "Hold on Henry, we are going to help you, just hold on! She tried to use her magic to heal him, but it was no use, she could not breathe, her son was dying in her arms. "Mother! Help me! Help him!" Cora looked down at the pale little boy and her daughter who was so distraught, she didn't care if he died, he had taken away the power she so desired, she was fuming at him. "Why would I help him? Stupid boy should have stayed out of the way." Regina just sobbed as she held Henry close, Henry opened his eyes to look at his mother, "Mom, she did it, Cora gave Joanna to Mr. Gold, it was her plan the entire time."

"Henry, it's okay don't try to talk, I am going to carry you back to town, we are going to get you help, because you are going to be just fine."

Henry stopped her from picking him up, "No! I am not going to be okay, and I want to tell you something before I die." Hearing those words cut Regina to her very core, she knew her son was dying and there was nothing she could do about it. She looked at Emma and Neal, "Let her go! Help me!" Neal and Emma started to run to Henry and Regina, but Cora waved her hands throwing them both back, she wanted Henry to die, it served his right for foiling her plan. "Mother please! I will give you anything you want! Just please don't let him die!"

"Mom, I'm sorry I ever doubted you, I know that you loved me, and that you wanted to protect me, I'm sorry I hurt you. I do love you."

With that Henry took his last breath and his face fell toward Regina's chest. Regina began to shake him, "HENRY! NO! wake up Henry wake up! Henry please please wake up!" Regina sobbed heavy tears as she held her son close to her chest, rocking him back and forth. "Henry, don't leave me... please, please don't leave me.."

Cora stood over Regina, "When you are done with the theatrics we can move on with our next phase, we could probably use the little girl, as I am sure she has some magical capabilities." Regina's entire body filled with anger, "You killed my son!" She looked up at Cora, "I did nothing of the sort, he was the one that got in the way, I was trying to kill Rumple, don't blame me for this." Regina was so angry, she gently laid Henry's lifeless body on the ground, standing up trying to steady herself from her weakness, she glared into her mother's face, "You never loved me, you are incapable of any kind of compassion, I don't know why, but you are. All of my life you have controlled and manipulated me, but not anymore! you just took away the largest part of my heart, no more mother! you are not going to hurt anyone anymore!" With that Regina gave Cora a vioent shove and pushed her with the dagger into the well.

Regina turned back to Henry, who was now being cradled by Emma as she sobbed over his body, Snow and Charming returned to see their daughter holding their dead grandson. They rushed to Emma, confused as to what happened, Snow handed the baby to her mother and Regina just pulled her in close to her face and began to sob.

Gold began to wake up only to see everyone circled around Henry's body, he stood up and walked over to them, he knelt down beside the little boy, touched by the fact that Henry had just sacrificed himself to save him. Tears began to fall down his face as he touched Henry on the forehead. As he did this he began to feel things that he hadn't felt in years, he looked down to see the color returning in Henry, and everyone then heared a large gasp of air as Henry began to breathe again.

Emma helps him sit up "Henry! Oh you are alright!" she looks at Gold who is smiling, and not a devious smile, but a genuinely happy smile. "What happened?"

"Henry's sacrifice killed the dark magic inside of me, It took a little piece of his life with it, but when I touched him I seemed to have given it back to him somehow, it seems I am free form the Dark One's powers and Henry is to thank for that!"

They all smiled at Henry who was looking frantically around them for his mom and sister, "Mom!" He ran to Regina and wrapped his arms around her and Joanna, "Oh Henry! I am so happy you are okay!" Regina was now crying tears of joy! She had both of her children safe in her arms.

Emma looked over at Neal, who was staring at her. "Care to explain to me how you ended up here?" "Guess I could ask you the same question, but... Rumple is my father." "He's your what? Wow... what an interesting turn of events this is."

"Why are you here?"

"Henry... he's my son, he's OUR son."

"What? I guess we have a lot to discuss..."

"Yes, it appears we do."

Regina and Henry walked over to join the others, Regina handed Emma the baby, "I need to take care of something."

"Okay, but don't take too long, we need to get you back to the hospital to get checked out, and get Joanna checked out."

Regina smiled as she kissed her little baby on the forehead, she turned to Rumple who handed her the book of magic spells that once belonged to her mother.

"Go ahead dearie, get rid of it for good."

Regina took the book and walked towards the well, she tossed it into the dark deep hole.

"Goodbye mother, I don't need you to be happy anymore. I have learned what real love and happiness is, and you are not it."

Regina turned around and looked at her two children with Emma, this was happpiness, this was real love. The love that she felt for Joanna and Henry was stronger than any she had ever experienced. She pulled on the chain around her neck with Daniel's ring around it, "I will never forget you Daniel! Thank you for teaching me the meaning of true love."

Little did they all know that inside Regina's vault in the cemetery a single glowing, beating heart sat inside of a box, located inside of Cora's trunk.

** THE END**

Thank you all for reading!

Hope you enjoyed it, please let me know what you think :)


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